[clug] Spreading the joy!

Alex Satrapa grail at goldweb.com.au
Wed Oct 27 22:53:18 GMT 2004


On 27 Oct 2004, at 17:57, Peter Barker wrote:

> So... has anybody done the maths in their hosting environment, mobile
> phone connected to serial port vs standard phone line + modem? I've 
> only
> really done 1/2 that equation; $300ish for mobile phone, $5/month plan.

Get an old Nokia 3310 - probably about $50 second hand.
Get a Nokia  3310 connection kit - $75-$200 depending on brand
Use gnokii - F/OSS
Subscribe to Vodaphone "no plan" - $0 per month, no monthly 
committment, SMS at something like $0.25 (small enough that it's not 
worth bothering about).

Use your phone to send you Mon reports too, and you'll still be saving 
money over a fixed-price-per-month contract.

I've found that with the connection kit, we still need to tape the 
phone on. After a few days - or even just from casual contact - the kit 
can become electrically isolated even though it is physically 
connected. Of course, if the phone is to be permanently used for this 
purpose, consider butchering the phone and kit and whipping out the 
soldering iron. I expect the electrical contact problem is as much a 
mechanical issue (contacts not quite meeting) as it is a chemical issue 
(contacts getting oxidised).

An alternative, of course, is to go the ultra-expensive route and get a 
GPRS dongle. High equipment and subscription fees, but very cheap text 
messages.

"If knowledge can create problems, it is not through ignorance that we 
can solve them."  --Isaac Asimov



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